Names Don't Define Us
by FangirlxCentral
Summary: Four times Oliver and Felicity 'talked' even if they didn't know each other's names and one time they did. AU where Oliver and Felicity meet before the island.
1. Coffee Shop

The door bells chimed and Felicity looked up suddenly; tearing her eyes from being half way through getting into the local server. Felicity never referred to her hobby as 'hacking' ; because let's face it hacking is such as an ugly word. She didn't know where it originated from, this intense feeling of bliss and relaxation. Whether if it was the feeling of her fingertips slamming against the keyboard at 100 words per minute, the sweet feeling complacency when outdoing someone else's smarts or whether if it was just because she could completely expose her innate skills with no one watching or judging. So when the door chimed and signaled the entry of someone, Felicity couldn't help but be a little panicky.

No-one and I mean NO-ONE ever came into this coffee shop at 5 a.m. for the past five months since Felicity became a regular. 'Jitters' was Felicity's safe haven; I mean who wouldn't love a combo of hacking and coffee with a side order of quiet time? Sitting at a distant corner of the coffee shop; she glanced furtively at the stranger. It was quite a view even for 5 a.m.

Even through his thick leather jacket and his black Henley, Felicity could make out that he was well built. That and his broad shoulders erased any dubiousness. And let's not get started on how the way his jeans hugged did wonderful things to accentuate his ass. The only downfall, she had to admit was his hair. Why on earth would he let it grow long when it would look so much better if it was cropped would always remain a mystery.

She couldn't stop staring; it wasn't as if she hadn't seen sexy men before. She had - in magazines! Seeing one this good looking - never mind words couldn't exactly fit his disposition; made her ogle harder in order to treasure this memory from her RAM to her hard drive.

Little did she notice that he was looking back at her too, but with a different expression on his face - a more quizzical one. He quickly approached her in three long strides and she had the sense to thankfully close that window that blared 'DOWNLOAD COMPLETE'

"Hey" he said  
God his voice did things to her and his fierce blue eyes were an anomaly that she made a mental note to eat something before she delved into coffee first thing in the morning.

"Are you the barista?" He asked

What? What about her appearance made him think that?

"Or do you happen to know where they are; because I've been at the counter for 15 minutes waiting for someone to show up but no one has" he added

15 minutes! Oh frack! How long had she been staring at him? 'Speak now!' an annoying voice commanded at the back of her brain ' before he thinks that you're a weirdo!'

"He probably does anyway" she said quietly  
"I'm sorry" he asked "What was that?

To her horror she noticed that she had voiced her thoughts out loud and this catalyst eventually led to a chemical explosion.

"Um nothing... It's something that I tend to do a lot" she said  
But to her great luck, she didn't stop but noticeably fastened her rate of 'babbling'

" Which doesn't happen often at 5 a.m. since I'm the only one here, not that I'm an insomniac or whatsoever, which begs me to question, how can you just waltz your way into a coffee shop at 5 a.m. and expect to be served... don't you call first?"

To her surprise he just grinned widely and replied with  
"This is a coffee shop ... not a five star restaurant"

Before things got any more awkward, Iris just walked in from the back and yelled "Cookies are in the oven and the coffee machines are prepped and ready!" And soon enough a deep blush appeared as she landed her eyes on the handsome stranger. He just walked quietly to the counter and quickly purchased two cups of coffee and a chocolate doughnut and paid. Felicity watched the quiet exchange between Iris and 'early coffee guy' and just as she thought that the worst was over; he sauntered his way to her table and rested one of the coffee cups.

"Don't worry it's on me, I couldn't help but notice that your coffee cup was empty" he admitted

Before she can utter another word, he came dangerously close and whispered

"I would suggest changing your coffee hours if you want to avoid early morning encounters with strangers" and he topped it of with a wink - A WINK!

She felt her body heat up from the spot above her ear her he whispered radiating all the way to her toes and just like that; he was out the door.

"What was that?" Iris asked slowly  
"More importantly, who was that?" Felicity breathed as she walked towards to counter  
"WHAT? You mean you seriously don't know who he is?" Iris berated and just resorted to a chuckle at Felicity's innocent expression

"Lis, you gotta pull your head out of that computer and into the real world!" Iris commented

And oddly enough, Felicity felt like she already had; as soon as that stranger walked into the coffee shop.


	2. Lotus Casino

Felicity fidgeted uncomfortably and couldn't seem to bring herself to look at the reflection. Standing in front of the full length mirror in the employee lounge, Felicity shifted from side to side; unable to associate what was being displayed in front of her. She heard a few implicit cat-calls and whistles from the employees that where passing in and out the room; and even Vince; the head bartender had called her a sexy vixen.

'Sexy Vixen' she muttered to herself.

She didn't deny it of course. She was adorned in a mini sparkly midnight blue cocktail dress that reached mid-thigh and exposed severe cleavage due to a triangular opening placed conveniently over her chest. Her creamy complexion; along with the six inch golden strappy heels was a cherry on top to accentuate her curvy figure. She was the epitome of a sexy vixen – and she hated it!

Smoothing out her long straight black locks, she sighed internally and looked at her wrist watch - her shift would start in exactly 10 minutes. She sighed at the circumstances that coerced her to be in this situation; that is being a cocktail waitress – even if it was a onetime thing – at Lotus Casino. Yes, THE Lotus Casino in the middle of freaking Vegas itself. And then she thought about why she was doing it; for her mother.

Tears pricked the back of her eyes and threatened to spill over, but Felicity knew she was stronger than that. She didn't know why she was so flustered, she didn't care that He wasn't here today; that He left them to fend for themselves, that He didn't love them. December 28th was the day her father left them. And today marked 15 years. Felicity was just a kid back then, but that moment was brandished into her hard drive. It hurt; but Felicity decided to move on with her life and overcome that obstacles that came at her, while her mother decided to get pissy drunk on today of all nights!

So, here she was in Vegas; during her Christmas break taking over her mother's shift, because if she didn't, her mother would be permanently fired. Her phone vibrated, signaling that it was time and she stepped into the extravagant bar and casino. To the outside world, Vegas might allure them with its ostentatious lights and whatnot; but there was nothing here that Felicity hadn't seen already since she practically grew up here.

Even if she was out of her comfort zone, her precocious eyes didn't fail to notice her customers. All of them were practically young adults. Literally ALL of them were maybe between 20-25 years of age. Then she remembered some of the staff whispering that some rich billionaire rented the entire casino for the entire night!

'Wow' she wondered and pursed her lips.

In front of her was a myriad of alcoholic beverages, some of the names that she couldn't even pronounce. She crossed her fingers and prayed that most of them would be so drunk as to not recognize whatever concoction that she would brew up. In the distance, she could hear the chanting proliferating and growing stronger against the thrumming beat of 'Turn Down for What'

"Tommy, Tommy, Tommy!" the crowd cheered

Felicity has a pretty good angle of him from her location. He was handsome at most, but not even close to that God like – thing that walked into the coffee shop, almost two months ago! She didn't know why she thought about him, but a sight like that simply couldn't be forgotten.

"Lis!" someone shouted and snapped their fingers.

"Roy, hi!" she said startled from her temporary daydream.

"Pull your head out that cloud! VIP Lounge is requesting 3 dirty martinis and a dozen of tequila shots" he said robotically

"Think you can handle that?" he questioned

"Of course!" she quipped and got to work

Felicity had to admit that maneuvering through the crowd of drunken teenagers and balancing a tray of alcohol was one of the most arduous things that she had done. She fist bumped with her free left hand when she safely made it to the VIP area. Just as she turned around to climb the steps, she collided – HARD – against something… no someone solid and instantaneously dropped her tray. She cringed at the inevitable shatter of broken glass that was long muted by the cacophonous music.

Her eyes suddenly settled on a pair of piercing blue eyes that almost seemed familiar – too familiar; and then her brain absorbed the rest of his face.

'_Speak of the devil, and you shall meet him'_

"Uhhh…." Felicity's brain couldn't reboot fast enough… it was him! The hot stranger… 'Early coffee guy!"

Then, her speech-gates broke and released the babble of the century.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do THAT, I would never spill a tray of expensive alcohol just to feel your … very toned and hard chest, I mean not that your chest isn't incredible to touch… it is but you have to know that I wasn't making a move at you. 3, 2, 1…" she blurted out and then took a long gasp.

Strangely, he didn't respond, but his eyes didn't leave her either. Instead his companion, who Felicity just noticed responded.

"Hey, watch where you're going! I mean I get that women are desperate these days and can't wait to jump a billionaire who happens to be passing by but… restraint is advised sweetheart" he crooned sarcastically.

That hit her like a wrecking ball, but for all the wrong reasons. She didn't give a rat's ass about what this spoiled billionaire thought about her. Instead, she remembered why she was in such a predicament in the first place; because of her father. She couldn't hold it any longer; tears came crashing down and anger bubbled inside of her.

"Not so fast! Just because you happen to be a spoiled billionaire with cash at your fingertips, doesn't give you the right to talk to me that way! Maybe you should ask your esteemed friend here what exactly happened, before you utter another word!" she shouted

And with that she stormed away into the crows and her a faint

"Just drop it Isaac!" being shouted past her shoulders.

What she didn't expect was for a warm hand to wrap around her elbow and suddenly turn her around. It was him again.

"What do you want?" she spat back, her anger still very fresh

"Nothing… it's just that you seem very familiar" he responded quizzically

Of course. Just because he popped up in her dreams now and then; didn't mean that she appeared in his. She sighed internally and continued to walk towards the bar.

"Wait!" he said and quickly caught up with her

"Hey" he whispered tenderly and Felicity shot her head up in surprised. Her eyes locked with his and he unconsciously leaned more into her.

"I've seen a lot of people, and sometimes I can notice that people unleash their anger; while they're actually really upset about something else entirely" he pointed blatantly

He was right, the real reason she lashed out at Isaac was because of her father and how he just left them like that without even a goodbye. I guess it really did affect her more than she had thought it did.

"What is it that's bothering you?" he presses and at that moment, she felt like she could tell him her deepest and darkest secrets.

"I barely know you, yet I feel like I can trust you… why is that?" she openly asked, more to herself than that this stranger.

"That's because you can" he stated simply

The electricity sparked and suddenly Felicity notice just how close their bodies were. She was pressed against the counter with 'mystery guys' body towering over hers and not more than six inches apart. His hand was resting dangerously close right next to hers, his pinky lightly brushing her thumb. They were literally breathing in each other's space and Felicity hadn't been giddier in her life.

"Ollie?" an irritated female voice called out behind them

Both of them turned out instantly and their eyes landed on a gorgeous brunette in a golden lace pantsuit.

"What are you doing?" she asked, hurt coating her question

"Nothing baby, this waitress just hit her head pretty hard… I was just making sure that she was okay" he coolly responded.

Felicity sighed in relief, there was no way she could have responded without embarrassing herself into oblivion. And in that instant, he gave her hand an implicit squeeze, and quickly escaped into the crowd; his lips fastened on 'gorgeous girlfriend'

Her stomach sunk and she berated herself. He was nowhere close to being hers. Frack, she didn't even know his name to begin with!

'Ollie' the woman had uttered…

Felicity left the casino, tasting the bitterness of that name 'Ollie' in her mouth. It felt shallow and quite frankly screamed 'spoiled playboy.' Maybe he was, maybe she was reading too much into this. But after tonight, she thought that there had to be something more to his name, because behind those fierce blue eyes, Felicity knew that he harbored power and passion.


End file.
